It is well known that the mooring of boats (and other marine vehicles) to mooring poles is often complicated by changing tides. In some areas, such changes in tides—from low tide to high tide—may be so great as to make mooring boats to stationary poles and docks highly difficult and, in some cases impossible. For example, a boat may be moored to one or more mooring piles with a safe and reasonable amount of mooring line at low tide, only to be allowed to drift dangerously far from such anchorage as the tide rises. In contrast, a boat tied securely to a mooring post at high tide, with a minimum play of line, may be dangerously tilted, damaged and/or capsized as low tide approaches and the boat becomes suspended by one or more cleats.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,280 discloses a boat mooring system including a track mounted to a piling. A carriage is mounted for movement within the track and an elongated rod is connected to the carriage. A float is mounted to the lower end of the rod allowing the entire assembly to move up and down. A mooring ring, attached to the movable (vertically) carriage allows a boat to be tied to the pile at a safe distance as the attachment point (ring) height follows changes in water levels associated with the tide. However, the aforementioned mechanism disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,280 is relatively complex, includes small moveable parts in contact with a marine environment and thus is subject to mechanism failure due to environmental factors such as debris, corrosion and temperature extremes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,016 (the “'016 patent”) discloses a dock pole bumper assembly utilized for securing a boat to a mooring pole. The assembly includes a stationary track arranged and secured vertically to a mooring pole. A moveable portion includes a carriage-like structure that engages the stationary track via guide channels. The carriage-like structure is faced with a flexible/deformable material. Mooring cleats are mounted on the side of the carriage-like structure and are utilized for securing the side of a boat directly against the flexible/deformable structure. As discussed above in regard to U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,280, the '016 includes relatively complex parts subject to jamming and/or seizure due to environmental factors. The '016 patent also requires the subject boat to be moored directly upon the mooring pole.